Caterham confirms sale to consortium

Caterham will continue to compete in Formula One in its current guise for the "foreseeable future" after confirming its sale by Tony Fernandes.

A consortium of Swiss and Middle Eastern investors, advised by former HRT team principal Colin Kolles, has purchased the team, with ex-F1 driver Christijan Albers heading up the day-to-day running. Albers replaces Cyril Abiteboul, who will "leave the team to pursue new challenges".

The team will retain its current name as well as keeping its current Leafield base. Albers says the first priority of the new ownership is to move Caterham up the pecking order before the end of the current season.

"We are aware of the huge challenge ahead of us given the fight at the bottom end of the championship and our target now is to aim for tenth place in the 2014 championship," he said. "We are very committed to the future of the team and we will ensure that the team has the necessary resources to develop and grow and achieve everything it is capable of."

Last week Fernandes rekindled lingering speculation surrounding a sale by admitting "F1 hasn't worked" before closing his Twitter account on June 28. At the start of the current season Fernandes had said 2014 was the last chance for Caterham to improve, adding "if we are at the back I don't think I'm going to carry on."

Caterham joined the grid in 2010 under the Lotus Racing name and was then called Team Lotus in 2011, which led to a bitter row over the rights to the prestigious name. Ultimately the legal battle led to the switch to the Caterham title for the 2012 season.

The team has struggled again this season and had to watch rivals Marussia beat it to scoring their first championship points at the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix. Like Marussia, Caterham have struggled to compete since joining the sport in 2010, while HRT - the other addition to the grid that season - folded in 2012 after three years of financial difficulties.